Cards seek to gain further ground on first-place Reds
Baseball Betting Lines
09/04/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Wainwright tries once again to become the National
League's first 18-game winner when the St. Louis Cardinals continue their
three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds today at Busch Stadium.
Like his team, Wainwright has hit the skids as of late, losing three straight
starts for the first time in his career while allowing 11 runs in 19 innings
of those outings to raise his earned run average to a still-impressive 2.30.
Wainwright's last loss came in Washington on Sunday, as he allowed four runs
and six hits in five innings to fall to 17-9 on the year.
"It definitely stings more when you know your team needs wins and you pitch
like that," Wainwright said after that game. "I'm pretty ticked about that. I
try to be the stopper, not the guy that continues the losing."
Wainwright's last win came at the expense of the Reds back on August 11, when
he tossed seven scoreless innings. He is 3-3 lifetime against them with a 4.01
ERA in 12 games, seven of which have been starts.
The 29-year-old right-hander has been dominant at home this season, having
posted an 11-1 mark with a 1.42 ERA in 13 starts.
St. Louis picked up a game on the NL Central-leading Reds in the opener of
this set on Friday, as Jaime Garcia kept an unbeaten streak against Cincinnati
intact with 6 2/3 effective innings and Jon Jay set the tone with a first-
inning RBI triple and run scored in the Cardinals' 3-2 win.
Garcia (13-6) won his fourth start in as many tries versus the Reds this
season by limiting surging Cincinnati to six hits and two runs while striking
out six.
"It's a big win for us, no matter who we were playing," Garcia said. "I see it
now a little bit different, that it's a big win against them. But before the
game I was just trying to treat it like any team. Just go out there and don't
try to do too much."
Ryan Franklin picked up his 23rd save with a spotless ninth to give the
Cardinals their fifth straight win against the Reds. Skip Schumaker collected
two hits and an RBI in the much-needed win that snapped St. Louis' season-high
five-game skid.
The last time these two teams met the Cardinals earned a three-game sweep that
gave them sole possession of first place in the division. Since then
Cincinnati had won 14 of 18 while the Cards went 5-13 prior to Friday's
result, which cut the Reds' lead in the division to seven games.
Bronson Arroyo (14-9) suffered the loss for giving up three runs and six hits
in six innings. Paul Janish provided a solo home run in the loss that stunted
the Reds' four-game win streak.
"There's not as much pressure, but tonight would have taken a lot of pressure
off of us if we had got one tonight," said Arroyo after the game. "Now we know
we have to grind it now just to get one [win]. We've got the two best pitchers
in the National League going [against us] the next two days. Tonight was huge.
We've got two games left, anything can happen."
Cincinnati will turn to rookie left-hander Travis Wood, who is 4-2 with a 3.53
ERA, for today's contest. Wood did not get a decision on Sunday against the
Chicago Cubs, as he allowed three runs and 10 hits in five innings of his
team's 7-5 win.
Wood has never faced the Cards.
The Cardinals have won 11 of 16 games versus the Reds this year.
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<< Twins, Rangers continue high-stakes series of division leaders
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Target Field has been able to provide the Minnesota Twins
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<< Mets turn to rookie in hopes of besting Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jenrry Mejia makes his first major league start this
afternoon, when the New York Mets continue their three-game series with the
Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
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<< Red Sox, White Sox to begin set with double dip
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weekend set, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox will renew acquaintances
with a day-night doubleheader that begins this afternoon from Fenway Park.
The arriv
Rockies try to pin ninth straight loss on reeling Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres try to avoid a ninth straight loss
this afternoon, when they play the middle test of their three-game series with
the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park.
San Diego's slide continued in the opener of this s
Braves try to bounce back in key series with Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson hopes for a better result than the last time
he faced Atlanta when he and the Florida Marlins continue their three-game
set with the Braves tonight at Sun Life Stadium.
Johnson surrendered just three hits and
Rays resume playoff push in second test with Orioles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays own the best road record of any team in
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Halladay aims to pitch surging Phils past Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Halladay goes after win No. 17 this evening, when the
playoff-hopeful Philadelphia Phillies continue their three-game series against
the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park.
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Cellar-dwellers face off again in Bucs-Nats clash >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh lefty Paul Maholm can make it two straight wins
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T
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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